Ex-Rockstar dev on GTA IV crunch: 'like working with a gun to your head'

Stumbled on a Reddit post where someone dug up an old quote from Job J Stauffer, an ex-Rockstar employee who worked on GTA IV. The guy didn't hold back.

He said during the GTA IV era it was basically seven days a week, and you had to be at your desk on weekends just in case Sam or Dan Houser walked through. The vibe was "if they're here grinding, you better be too." He also mentioned getting sick once, going to the doctor, getting some meds that gave him a bad reaction, and posting about it on Twitter. Instead of anyone checking if he was okay, management chewed him out for not being at work and "playing around on Twitter" instead. Insane.

This isn't exactly new info. There were magazine articles about crunch at Rockstar going all the way back to the San Andreas days. The company's always had this reputation for pushing people to the absolute limit to hit their insane quality bar. And honestly, the results speak for themselves, but at what cost?

With GTA 6 now just a few months out, I can't help but wonder what's happening behind the scenes right now. We've seen those recent reports about devs pushing back and union efforts gaining traction. Maybe things are different this time? Or maybe the final stretch of a Rockstar game always looks the same, no matter what policies are on paper.

What do you think — has Rockstar actually changed their crunch culture for GTA 6, or is it just better hidden now?

Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.

seven days a week just in case the housers walk by? that's actually deranged lol

ngl this makes scraping for the standard edition hit different. i'm hype but now i feel kinda guilty

hope whoever's handling lucia's last polish pass is getting actual sleep fr

now i feel kinda guilty

Don't. Crunch is just "passion" with a new PR team.

I've 100 percented every GTA campaign, and I don't think Three Leaf Clover's polish is worth developers working through a doctor's visit.

Three Leaf Clover's polish is worth developers working through a doctor's visit.

ok so this exactly. four months out from november and still no trailer 3 means they're probably deep in the worst of it right now and i hate thinking about it. i want the game to be perfect but not like this. rockstar's always been brutal and the union stuff feels like too little too late honestly.

Vladivostok FM got me through every Liberty City all-nighter. Hoping the Leonida crew isn't stuck on the same endless track loop!